BLESSED BE YOUR NAME... GOD...

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"BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT

FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN."

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Eternally joyful
are those who surrender their whole selves to God
for theirs is ETERNAL LIFE.

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When I look in the rearview mirror of my life, it is those times of my life when I truly surrender to God and say to God,

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"God, not my will but Yours!"

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"I can't do this, I need You, God!"

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"It's not about me, God! It's about You!"

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"Here's my filthy rags, God!

I give them to You to do as You will!"

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"I can do NOTHING on my own!

I offer myself to You, God!"

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"God, I give up!

I surrender!"

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Oh, there are more, but you get the idea! I say, "I SURRENDER!" and that means, I'm giving God permission to take over. Rick Warren, in his book The Purpose Driven Life, reminds us at the very beginning, "It's not about you!" On those days that I have lived like that and put my total trust in my God there are remarkable BLESSINGS.

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I have stories... lots of stories of what God has done in my life when I have surrendered: as a child, a teen, a young adult, a wife, a mother... You probably do to! Share them with your family and friends.

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Steve reminded me yesterday of our move to Pitman in 2007. We knew we were leaving Indiana and for a while we had no idea where we were going. He had job applications out from Texas to Colorado to South Dakota to Minnesota to.... wait... New Jersey???? We had lived in the West, the South, and mostly the Midwest... but the east coast? We had given it to God, praying continuously. Steve had fasted for weeks. God's answer was clear. Steve was to take the New Jersey job. The whole story of how God brought us here is truly remarkable. Yet, it was the day that Steve went to reserve the moving truck that he reminded me of. On that day, we knew we were headed for Jersey in a few weeks, but we had found no affordable home. He was paying for a truck to go to "a land" where we had never even thought of as a possibility AND there was no home waiting for us. Crazy! Were we out of our minds?

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We had made a decision that this move would be totally God's! We surrendered our desires to move to the West. We surrendered our yearnings to live near our kids. We surrendered our need for answers! We gave it all up and waited in faith. And, yes, people thought we were C.R.A.Z.Y.!

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We're now in our fourth year of living "on the East coast". By the time we got here, God provided a house for us that met our needs. God provided a church family here that is so in love with Him that it is easy to be at home. God provided the answers that we needed at just the right time. Oh, we miss looking out at mountains, but we go visit occasionally. We miss our kids and their families, but then again that's what cheap flights on Southwest Airlines are for. We miss having all the answers, but we know who has them and we've surrendered to Him and given God our trust... we've given our lives back to God.

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~ BLESSED ~

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